BET speaks to one of my personal favorite next-up-to-shine emcees from Maryland, Phil Ade. I’m telling you, watch out for this kid. I don’t have the attention span to watch this whole video (I know, I know, shame on me, but something about the way this was shot just doesn’t grab me), but if you don’t already know essentially all there is to know about Phil like I do, you should peep this.

Elekt1 is a cool guy. I nagged him about describing himself for this post but he prefers I explain who he is in my own words, and that’s really who he is. He’s a cool guy who works with Inner Loop Records/Guns N Butter, and we share a ton of geographic similarities. My first legit job in NY was a couple blocks from where he used to live in Brooklyn, and somehow he ended up in the DMV in my original stomping grounds. It’s like we traded places. But even better than that, he’s a man who knows his music, and respects the elements of Hip Hop. I also feel immense sorrow for him that he left BK for the DMV, but you know, it is what it is. At least his iPod should keep him entertained down there, and his iPod five is definitely reflective of some good taste in music. And an iPod I might want to steal when he’s not looking.

Elekt1 says…“I’m picky about what enters the gates of USB on onto my iPod. So here’s what happened when I played. I like this idea and hope a lot more people show it love on your site.”

The e-mail blast said this guy Lano is from the DMV, but for some reason I’m unfamiliar. Guess that happens when you move away from a place. Either way he doesn’t sound like the rest of the people in the area do these days, rather he sounds like people are sounding who aren’t from the area, but this track was compelling enough for me to download it, and I’ll look out for more stuff from the guy in my inbox. His bio also says he tattooed Dawn from Dirty Money, which is quite fascinating and I’d like to know more. I’m guessing he’s also a tattoo artist but it didn’t actually say that, and that’s a pretty big technicality soooo….

I released a track from this earlier, and now the entire project is up for grabs. Inner Loop Records presents Soulful!’s Mumbo Sauce and Drumbreaks. This is like half rap, half instrumental album, 100% a great glimpse into the D.C. area Hip Hop scene right now. Track list below, as well as a link to a stream and download of the album via Bandcamp.

When it comes to the DMV rap scene, Phil Ade constantly catches my eye. Ever since I heard “Hollywood” he’s been steadily on my radar. I’ve been running into him randomly in Brooklyn a lot these days, and it’s refreshing to see the D.C. musical movement reach beyond the confines of the Mid-Atlantic.